Buying and Selling on eBay: Tips, Tricks, Problems & Questions

[Fueco]



Nice job!

I just made a 2100% profit on a no name, completely unbranded 3 piece tweed suit.

[COLOR=6A29B9]Tweed 3 Piece Suit Wool 42L 36/32 Gray Herringbone Vest Pants Coat Trad EUC VTG[/COLOR]

Good times... I just made a 2000% profit on an Oxxford blazer. If only all my sales were so good!

 

[wilay05]

I used to buy anything that I knew I could make money on, but now, I have learned and changed my rule. Now, I only buy if I can make at least $15-$20.

 

[hooker4186]

Profit% isn't everything tho. I'd rather make 300% off a $50 item than 500% off a $10 item.

 

[wilay05]

thats true but I rarely see anything that is over $20-$30 that is worth buying. For me, anything over that price range requires at least triple my money.

 

[Fueco]



Profit% isn't everything tho. I'd rather make 300% off a $50 item than 500% off a $10 item.

True dat... My bread and butter items are 3-4X and I pay $15-25.

 

[Acme]

However, if you are thrifting in LA or some other local that rains Brioni...

Man, I got to move to LA.

 

[Evil Abed]

Hmm, I wonder if the rain that just fell here in LA is a sign that I should be out at the shops. I don't see any 7-folds dripping from the eves, but I might have to take everyone's word for it.

 

[TheNeedMachine]

Yes, I do often. I value her service greatly. Since I use the pick up service, it is important to keep her happy. Pam, is fairly new on the route. She does a great job and doesn't complain about all the packages. I go out to at least say hello whenever she picks up while I am home on the weekend. This also gives me an opportunity to make sure my printed labels aren't giving her issues with scanning, or anything else that might be an unforeseen problem. I try to leave at least a thank you note every couple of weeks and every so often a gift card to the local bakery/cafe, which is right next to the post office.

My post office gets the giant tremendous biggest size possible gift basket I can find from that Wine Country catalog.

Jeez, make me look like a cheapskate - I gave my letter carrier a Visa gift card for Xmas and nothing else...but that was when I was only shipping a few items here and there - probably do a bit more this year.

Safe is the part that concerns me, I'm always fearful of leaving 10 packages on the porch and getting 10 messages 5 days later that no one ever received their shipments. I don't really live in a bad part of town, but i get enough foot traffic by to scare me.

I leave mine on the porch, though I work from home so am almost always here (but working, so, cannot usually bring the packages out in person). Before I started doing that, I would do all my postage & packing at home then bring all the paid packages to the local post office to drop off at the counter they have specifically just for drop-offs - no waiting in line and no worrying about them being lifted by a passer-by.

 

[GMMcL]



Jeez, make me look like a cheapskate - I gave my letter carrier a Visa gift card for Xmas and nothing else...but that was when I was only shipping a few items here and there - probably do a bit more this year.   

i havent checked this thread in ages, but just poppoing in to remind folks its very illegal to give your mailman a give beyond nominal value -- i think the dollar amount is like $25.
Sounds like Spoo gives the gift to the whole post office, which could be ok, since it averages out across the whole office.
Bottom line, be careful -- though your intentions are good, there are a number of surprising civil and criminal consequences.

also, I leave my packages on my front porch. But I also leave my keys in my car because our town is absurdly safe. So....

 

[capnwes]

i havent checked this thread in ages, but just poppoing in to remind folks its very illegal to give your mailman a give beyond nominal value -- i think the dollar amount is like $25.
Sounds like Spoo gives the gift to the whole post office, which could be ok, since it averages out across the whole office.
Bottom line, be careful -- though your intentions are good, there are a number of surprising civil and criminal consequences.

also, I leave my packages on my front porch. But I also leave my keys in my car because our town is absurdly safe. So....

Yeah, I checked into that before, it's $20 limit. But, do you know how often? Is that per day....week, month or year?

 

[VLSI]

The way I read what's on usps.com, you can attempt to give them whatever you want, it just may be illegal for them to accept it.

 

[SchoolyardBully]

Edit: wrong Thread!

 

[masaccio]

Ugh. Over the past few weeks I've won two separate auctions for Made in Italy PRL trousers. Neither auction was marked as Made in Italy or Corneliani, so they didn't attract much action and I got a great deal on each one (NWT and NWOT for $30 and $21 w/shipping).

First auction posted shipping information immediately, and two weeks later there are still no updates on the USPS.com website.

Finally contacted seller yesterday, not realizing that it was going to open a case. Still no word back from seller, though, but I'm hoping s/he doesn't take the opening of a case as an antagonistic action. I just wanted to "Contact Seller" to make sure it wasn't a situation where the label got printed and then the package never made it to the Post Office!!

Second auction took a week before it was marked as shipped, but no tracking information provided.

Sent seller a message (this time figuring out how to do it without opening a case), but no word back.

I'm hoping that each one will end with a good resolution. Just bummed that after scoring great deals, I can't get the goods!

Sorry, just a buyer ranting.

 

[txwoodworker]

I tend to do the same when I know I have at least one really good score. It usually result in me asking "why in the hell did I buy this again?" by the time I get around to listing. Another factor that comes into play for me is what I currently have that needs to be listed.

I've likened this addiction to gambling many times, sometimes I walk in and find something fantabulous and lose my mind, buying all sorts of stuff that later I'm like.... what the (*&!! was I thinking?

Ugh. Over the past few weeks I've won two separate auctions for Made in Italy PRL trousers. Neither auction was marked as Made in Italy or Corneliani, so they didn't attract much action and I got a great deal on each one (NWT and NWOT for $30 and $21 w/shipping).

First auction posted shipping information immediately, and two weeks later there are still no updates on the USPS.com website.

Finally contacted seller yesterday, not realizing that it was going to open a case. Still no word back from seller, though, but I'm hoping s/he doesn't take the opening of a case as an antagonistic action. I just wanted to "Contact Seller" to make sure it wasn't a situation where the label got printed and then the package never made it to the Post Office!!

Second auction took a week before it was marked as shipped, but no tracking information provided.

Sent seller a message (this time figuring out how to do it without opening a case), but no word back.

I'm hoping that each one will end with a good resolution. Just bummed that after scoring great deals, I can't get the goods!

Sorry, just a buyer ranting.

Soooo... those PRL's that are not marked as made by Corneliani or made in Italy, how do you authenticate them?

 

[SchoolyardBully]

noob question: Where do you guys find your dress form/mannequin? did you thrift them? any recommendation or pointers would sure be helpful. Thanks in advance!